PICKEREL. 171 
doubt tliey ascend the rapids of that mightj river, being 
found in the eddies ; but thej prefer quiet water, where 
they can lurk among the weeds, watching stealthily for 
their prey, or bask near the surface in the warm summer 
sun. Both mascallonge and pickerel abound in the innu- 
merable lakes of Lower Canada, and are so abundant in 
addition to being almost tasteless, as to be unsalable for 
food. 
In other waters pickerel are found in the summer 
months among the lily-pads, often in water scarcely deep 
enough to cover their backs. The federation pike I have 
never taken, except in some of the remote ponds of the 
wild woods of Cape Cod, near Sandwich and Wareham, 
especially in the Little Herring Pond. And although at 
the time I had no knowledge of the scientific distinctions 
of fish, I at once recognized the description which I saw 
for the first time afterward, but had often sought in vain 
among our works on ichthyology. All the pickerel 
family are readily distinguishable by their having but 
on^ dorsal, and that opj)osite the anal fin and near the 
tail, and the sportsman acquainted with one will readily 
recognize all the tribe. 
There are many w^ays of capturing this fish, and he is 
not the least particular if he is ofi*ered anything that has 
the semblance of food. He may be trolled for w^tli dead 
bait, generally a minnow, or better, a yellow perch, on a 
gang of hooks, or fished for with a live bait and a float, 
and he will readily take a frog, provided the latter shall 
not, as described in the '' Angler's Miseries," have the 
intelligence to creep out upon a stone and watch the 
fisherman, while the latter watches his float; but the 
